Politician: HIV Poz People Should Be Branded

A Swaziland MP who last week suggested that HIV positive people be branded on the buttocks on Thursday distanced himself from the statement, saying he was misquoted by the media.

An apologetic Timothy Myeni told reporters in Johannesburg that he had not thought through his posing of "a mark" for HIV-positive Swazis last week at a workshop on ways of fighting the scourge in the small mountain kingdom.

"I want to disassociate myself from the statement that has been doing rounds in the media saying I suggested that people with HIV should be branded. That is not what I said," said Myeni, who also sings with a popular gospel group.

"I posed a question to the workshop facilitator saying maybe those who have been found with the virus must have a mark so that they can get quick medical attention."

Myeni added that he had immediately retracted his question after it was shot down by workshop participants.

The widely-reported comments sparked an uproar in Swaziland, one of the world's poorest nations with the highest HIV prevalence in the world under the rule of Africa's last absolute monarch King Mswati III.

"I am very sorry for the damage that has been caused by the statement, I never imagined that it will be interpreted this way," added Miyeni.

Copyright AFP

NYT: First Hand Account Of Doctors And Infection Risks

When we think of dangerous work, doctoring isn’t usually what comes to mind. Of course, police and firefighters, construction site workers and window washers face daily risks, but doctors?

As Dr. Pauline Chen writes in her latest Doctor and Patient column, caring for patients with contagious diseases puts every health care worker on the front lines of a potentially deadly outbreak. Whether it’s a physician treating swine flu or a nurse working amidst the deadly SARS outbreak in Asia, health care workers face far higher risk of exposure than the rest of us. Follow the link to the article in the New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com

HIV + 'ers File Suit Over Lost Medical Records

Four HIV-positive patients whose records were left behind on an MBTA train by a Massachusetts General Hospital employee are suing the hospital, contending their privacy was breached.

In March, the hospital notified 66 patients who received care at its Infectious Disease Associates outpatient practice that billing records bearing their names, Social Security numbers, doctors, and diagnoses had been lost by a manager who was riding the Red Line. She had brought the paperwork home for the weekend, but left it on the train when she returned to work Monday morning, March 9, according to a hospital security report.

Last week two of the 66 patients filed a breach-of-privacy suit in Suffolk Superior Court against the hospital and the unidentified billing manager. Two more have since joined them. All four unnamed patients are HIV-positive.

The plaintiffs' lawyer, John Yasi, said in an interview he has filed a motion to make the suit a class action that could cover all 66 patients, a significant number of whom are HIV-positive.

"The damages that jump out are the emotional distress surrounding the loss of obviously very sensitive medical information and, secondarily, the loss of personal security information," he said. "A Social Security number in reality may lead to identity theft, which we all know is a nightmare."

Mass. General officials declined to be interviewed, but said in a statement that doctors had called patients to apologize. "We have learned valuable lessons from this difficult situation," the statement said. "We are strengthening our efforts to protect patient health information through such means as enhanced training programs and by identifying and limiting situations that could put health information at risk."

Courtesy Boston Globe

CNN: Elton John Speaks Out About HIV/AIDS

Elton John may be famous for smash hits such as "Tiny Dancer" and scores for films such as "The Lion King," but he's also made a name for himself in HIV/AIDS activism.

The singer-songwriter established the Elton John AIDS Foundation in the United States and the United Kingdom to support HIV prevention programs, efforts to eliminate stigma and discrimination associated with the disease, and care and support services for people living with the condition. The foundation has raised more than $150 million. John has said that Ryan White, an Indiana teenager who died of HIV/AIDS in 1990, inspired him to create this foundation.

John sat down with CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta before speaking Tuesday at the Bio International Convention in Atlanta, Georgia.

Here is the link to the complete article on CNN.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/05/19/elton.john.aids/

Georgia Receives 63.9 Million Dollars For HIV/AIDS

The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program has awarded Georgia $63.9 million in federal grants for use in the treatment and care of people living with the disease.

The federal program provides health services funding for infected people who don’t have sufficient coverage or financial resources. Overall, more than $1.79 billion was given nationally.

In Georgia, recipients include county public health departments and community organizations such as AIDGwinnett, a Duluth-based program that provides medical care, testing, counseling, meal delivery and other services.

The grants will be used to provide outpatient health services, drug assistance, health insurance payments and support services like transportation and housing. Organizations that work with afflicted individuals say this infusion of money is much needed.

In 2007, there were more than 18,000 people with HIV/AIDS living in Georgia. Georgia ranks sixth among states and Washington with the number of HIV-positive people.

“Ryan White was the Indiana teen with hemophilia who contracted the disease though a blood transfusion. He attracted international attention for his fight to remain in school. There was a movie made about his life, and his cause was backed by a number of celebrities, including pop star Michael Jackson.

The program is administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration, which is an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It helps more than 529,000 people annually receive the care and services needed to live healthier lives, according to a release by the agency. Courtesy Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Study: Smoking And HIV Don't Mix

New research suggests that HIV Positive smokers may have an enhanced risk of emphysema, and tend to suffer a swifter declone in lung function.

The research was presented by Syed Kadri, a medical student at Ohio State University Medical Center, on Sunday, at the 105th International Conference of the American Thoracic Society in San Diego.

Mr. Kadri and colleagues are directing a prospective study to evaluate declines in lung function among HIV-positive patients. The patients, mostly men in their 40s, half of whom were smokers, were assessed at baseline for two measures of respiratory status, and had been followed for two years at the time of reporting.

At the end of two years, the 63 patients displayed marked declines in lung function. "This is the type of decline you might expect to see in elderly individuals who have a long history of smoking," said Mr. Kadri. "These results indicate that HIV-positive patients are more susceptible to lung-related problems than HIV-negative individuals and that HIV-positive smokers are even more susceptible to developing early emphysema. We don't know when these differences begin to manifest in HIV-positive individuals who smoke, but the severity is likely a function of the time that they have lived with the disease."

The researchers have begun a new leg of the study, to analyze the effects of smoking cessation in the same cohort as those in the current study. "We hope this next phase will show us whether lung function improves with smoking cessation in HIV-positive individuals and what factors are associated with successful cessation," said Mr. Kadri.

Physicians treating patients with HIV should be aware that they are at much higher risk for emphysema, and counsel them more about smoking cessation." Courtesy American Thoracic Society.

Who Will YOU Walk For?

This Sunday is the Minnesota AIDS Walk to benefit Minnesota AIDS Project, a Twin Cities non-profit that helps those with HIV and AIDS.

There's still time to join in the walk, volunteer for the walk or just give to the walk.

Follow the link for more information.

I hope to see you there!

http://community.mnaidsproject.org/Page.aspx?pid=317

Study: Acyclovir Does Not Reduce HIV Risk

Acyclovir, a drug that suppresses herpes simplex virus-2, does not reduce HIV risk when taken by people infected by HIV and herpes, U.S. researchers said.

The majority of people with HIV infection also have herpes simplex virus-2 infection. Multiple studies have shown that frequent genital herpes recurrences increase the amount of HIV in the blood and genital tract.

The HIV virus is also shed from genital herpes ulcers and individuals with such ulcers transmit HIV to others more efficiently, the researchers said.

Researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle conducted studies among 3,408 African HIV discordant couples, in which one partner had HIV and the other did not.

In all the couples, the partner who had HIV also had herpes simplex virus-2 infection. The study took place at 14 sites in seven countries in eastern and southern Africa -- Botswana, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

In the primary analysis of HIV transmissions determined by laboratory testing to have occurred within the couple and not acquired from an outside partner, there were 41 infections in the acyclovir arm and 43 in the placebo arm -- not a significant difference, researchers said.

More Tales Of Dirty Medical Equipment

Two doctors allegedly involved in the reused syringe scandal in Nevada face more legal troubles - accused of defaulting on $300,000 worth of equipment leases.

Kingsbridge Healthcare Finance claims in Clark County Court that Vishvinder Sharma and Dipak Desai leased colonoscopes, video processors, gastroscopes and other items for their Spanish Hills Surgical Center, but defaulted in May 2008.

Sharma and Desai are at the center of what is believed to be Nevada's largest class of medical malpractice cases, with at least 5,000 plaintiffs.

In 2008, The Southern Nevada Health District urged more than 40,000 patients to get tested for hepatitis B and C and HIV after accusations surfaced that doctors and nurses at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada reused syringes and vials of anesthesia over a four-year period.

Other clinics, including the Spanish Hills Surgical Center, were later accused of reusing syringes as well. Both facilities, along with at least one other, were shuttered by authorities last year. Courtesy Courthouse News Service.

Assisted Living Facility Sued For Allegedly Rejecting HIV POZ Senior

Reverend Dr. Robert Franke, a 75-year-old retired university provost and Unitarian minister has filed suit against a North Little Rock Arkansas assisted living facility after he was allegedly forced from the facility due to his HIV status.

Franke had moved into Fox Ridge of North Little Rock after fulfilling all residency requirements — including submitting medical evaluation forms from a local physician.

But the day after Franke moved in, Fox Ridge officials allegedly forced him from the facility when they learned he has HIV, despite the fact that he requires no special medical attention beyond daily medication and regular check-ups with a physician. A Fox Ridge staffer went so far as to tell Franke's daughter, Sara Franke Bowling that her father's personal effects could stay, but that the "body" had to be out by the end of the day.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas against Fox Ridge, by Lamda Legal on behalf of Franke and Bowling. The suit asks for damages for Franke and Bowling under the Fair Housing Act, the Arkansas Civil Rights Act and the Arkansas Fair Housing Act and, by seeking intervention from the court, intend to prevent Fox Ridge from continuing to engage in this kind of discriminatory conduct.

"I was stunned," says Bowling. "The people at Fox Ridge were supposed to make sure that he was comfortable and cared for, and instead they shunned and rejected him, making him feel like a complete outcast."

According to Lamda Legal, Fox Ridge is licensed by the state to provide Dr. Franke with the kind of assistance he and his daughter were seeking for him. "This isn't about money to me," says Franke. "I want to make sure something like this doesn't happen to anyone else — because no one should ever be made to feel the way I did."

Lambda Legal, a national organization, based in New York City, is "committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work" Information courtesy Lamda Legal

9 1/2 Minutes

Dr.David Holtgrave from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in an op-ed piece on Huffington.com, gives an impassioned plea to the Obama Adminstration to release more funds in the fight against HIV.
For years HIV advocates have lamented the lack of interest in HIV/AIDS during the Bush Administration, and had hoped that with the Obama Adminstration, changes would be forthcoming.

But last Thursday President Obama released a deeply disappointing 2010 budget proposal with only a small increase in domestic HIV prevention funding. The $53 million in new funds requested of Congress is less than one-tenth of what is needed to drive down HIV infection rates in the United States, and is even less than President Bush's most recent annual requests to Congress.

For the complete text, follow the link to Huffingtonpost.com

Huffingtonpost.com

SF Chronicle: Emergency Room Visit And The Surprise HIV Diagnosis

Another reminder, this one from an article in the San Francisco Chronicle, on the importance of being tested for HIV.

Emergency rooms are now routinely testing patients for HIV infection. While the chances of being infected is low, the longer HIV remains undiagosed, the more damage it does to a persons immune system.

Here's an excerpt from the article.

After three days of a nasty cough and persistent headache, a 42-year-old man recently visited San Francisco General Hospital's emergency room, expecting to leave with a flu diagnosis.
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The patient, whose name is not being used to protect his privacy, was anxious to return to his job as a hardwood floor installer the next afternoon. But after an hour in the emergency room, and noticing the concerned looks of nurses who conducted a slew of tests, he began to wonder whether his symptoms indicated an illness more critical - perhaps tuberculosis.

"When they came in wearing masks and with social workers," he said later, "that's when I knew it was more serious."

An avid surfer and father of a 16-year-old son, he learned in late March the shocking news: He'd tested positive for HIV. The doctors wore masks because he also had a case of pneumonia. His low T-cell count and high viral count suggested the HIV had been active for years, quietly warring with his immune system.

Full article is at the link.

San Francisco Chronicle

The Future: Prick Your Finger, Check Your HIV

People living with HIV could soon monitor their own condition at home using a hand-held device, similar to ones used by diabetics .

Scientists at three of London's largest research centers have been granted 3 million dollars to develop a hi-tech, finger prick blood-testing gadget.

The device's tiny mechanical sensors - microcantilever arrays - measure HIV levels to warn of impending flare ups.

A display then alerts the user if there is any need for them to visit a doctor.

Investigator Dr Anna-Maria Goretti, an NHS consultant and co-investigator based at the Royal Free Hospital, said: "If patients neglect to take their treatments or need prompting to see their GP the device will provide a simple way of letting them know.

"It will really empower HIV patients to keep a close eye on their health and their treatments."

Instead of routinely seeing a specialist every three or so months "just in case", they would only need to see their doctor when things were going wrong.

As well as reducing visits to the doctor, it could also be of real benefit in developing countries where rapid and affordable ways to monitor HIV patients are urgently needed, say the researchers.

The microcantilever arrays are each coated with substances that stick to the HIV and other proteins, which are markers associated with disease progression.

Accommodating these markers causes the highly-sensitive sensors to bend like a diving board and this bend indicates the level of virus in the body, explained lead investigator Dr Rachel McKendry of University College London and the London Centre for Nanotechnology.

Lisa Power of the Terrence Higgins Trust said: "This is certainly a very good idea. If you have diabetes you can check your blood sugar levels.

"Similarly, it would be very useful if HIV patients could check their own viral measures, say, once a month."

"It would not replace specialist advice, but it would be a way to reduce a patient's dependence on doctors."

Obama and HIV, The Disappointing First 100 Days

Peter Staley wonders why some very basic moves that would have established the president's bona fides early on in HIV policy have simply languished undone. Like, ahem, removing the HIV travel ban. It was backed by Bush, overwhelmingly passed by the last Congress, passed last summer ... and yet the Obama administration has barely moved on it. Yes, there has been a very welcome boost to HIV research funding and one leading gay appointee, John Berry. But the rest is an awkward, inactive silence.

http://blogs.poz.com/peter/archives/2009/05/obamas_silence_on_ai.html